Sunday, July 01, 2012

There is much celebration around the recent dry dock and repairs to the naval warship "Old Ironsides / USS Constitution and her exploits in the War of 1812. However, if not for the efforts of an Armenian immigrant, "Old Ironsides" would have been scraped at the turn of the 20th Century.Therefore, it is only fitting to recall Moses
Gulesian, a Boston Armenian immigrant who rallied a nation to save “Old
Ironsides” from the scrap yard.

Moses H. Gulesian, a native of Marash, is a shining symbol of New World success. After arriving penniless in New York harbor in 1883, he moved to Worcester and eventually settled in Boston where he opened a successful copperworks factory.

In 1900, he was commissioned by the
state to replace the wooden lion and unicorn symbols of the Old State
House with copper ones--the originals incidentally were installed later
on his home in Chestnut Hill. Today Gulesian is best remembered for his
efforts to save the U.S.S. Constitution, commonly known as "Old
Ironsides," the oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy and the
champion of the War of 1812.

In 1905, Gulesian, overtaken by a
strong sense of patriotism, sent the following telegram to Naval
Secretary J. Bonaparte, "Will give ten thousand dollars for the
Constitution, Old Ironsides. Will you sell?" The offer made national
headlines and one reporter suggested that the ship might worry the
"Sultan" of Turkey if it was sold to an Armenian. "It would be a good
joke if they could be led to believe that the old frigate might steal
out of Boston some night and sail for the Mediterranean to bombard some
of the unprotected ports of Turkey," Gulesian replied. Gulesian's
efforts rallied public support and saved the ship.

For his
role, Gulesian was elected President of the Old Ironsides Association
and later he would be given the distinction of becoming the first
foreign-born member of the Sons of the American Revolution.